Dust to dust: Aggies claim no practice issues from the Saharan stuff

Texas A&M football coach Jimbo Fisher had a funny retort when asked how his players are dealing with practicing in the Saharan Dust.

Video: Houston Chronicle

COLLEGE STATION – I snagged a vacation day this week and tackled a landscaping project in the front yard, pretty much an all day job.

About the same time, the Saharan dust that's been enveloping the area tackled me. Headaches, sneezing, dry throat, blurry eyes and coughing all have been part of the deal. Let's just say I felt like Gerry Cooney after 13 rounds with Larry Holmes (perhaps a slight exaggeration on an outdated reference).

A few miles away from our Bryan home, Texas A&M football has been toiling in camp on campus, surrounded by the same dust which at one point this week KBTX-TV dubbed "moderate to unhealthy" in College Station according to the air quality website Air Now.

"Dust from the Sahara Desert in Africa – totaling a staggering two to nine trillion pounds worldwide – has been almost a biblical plague on Texas and much of the southern United States in recent weeks," a kbtx.com article from this summer intoned.

So I asked Aggies first-year coach and newcomer to the state Jimbo Fisher, who perhaps believes it's always hazy this time of year in Southeast Texas, if the dust has had any impact on his practices or players.

His answer was priceless, and worth a transcription:

"Kind of a goofy question, but has the dust had any impact on y'all?"

JF: "The what?"

"The Saharan dust."

JF: "I ain't never noticed it. Hey, football players, we live in dirt and dust (laughing). There's always dust on every play, smoke or something on every play. There's something flying up ... if we're playing right.

"Seriously, I don't know where that came from. I never heard of it. Of course, I don't know what's going on in the world right now."

New Texas A&M University head football coach Jimbo Fisher talks during a press conference at the school's Hall of Champions at Kyle Field, Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, in College Station. ( Mark Mulligan / Houston Chronicle )

Photo: Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle

That last part is music to A&M fans' dusty ears, considering it means Fisher's focus solely is on football. The Aggies continue camp on Friday and kickoff their season in less than two weeks, when they play host to Northwestern (La.) State on Aug. 30 at Kyle Field.

Ideally by then, the Saharan dust in the region will have scooted on along – at least for this summer.

Brent Zwerneman is a staff writer for the Houston Chronicle covering Texas A&M athletics. He is a graduate of Oak Ridge High School and Sam Houston State University, where he played baseball.

Brent is the author of four published books about Texas A&M, three related to A&M athletics. He’s a four-time winner of APSE National Top 10 writing awards for the San Antonio Express-News, including a second-place finish for breaking the Dennis Franchione “secret newsletter” scandal in 2007.

His coverage of Texas A&M’s move to the SEC from the Big 12 also netted a third-place finish nationally in 2012. Brent met his wife, KBTX-TV news anchor Crystal Galny, in the Dixie Chicken before an A&M-Texas Tech football game in 2002, and the couple has three children: Will, Zoe and Brady.